Artificial Intelligence advancements escalate in the MENA region: Coursera expands its offerings with over 900 GenAI courses and resources
In the rapidly evolving digital landscape of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Coursera, Inc., a global online learning platform, has expanded its AI-focused Professional Certificates, courses, and Specializations. This expansion comes in response to a significant surge in interest and demand for AI-related skills in the region.
The MENA region has seen a remarkable uptake in GenAI courses, with over 500,000 enrollments in 2025 alone. This averages to one enrollment every two minutes, highlighting the region's eagerness to develop AI skills. Countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia have each surpassed 100,000 enrollments, with learners spending nearly half a million hours on GenAI training. This commitment indicates a strong focus on building a workforce equipped with AI skills.
The expanded range includes over 925 AI-focused courses, developed in collaboration with industry giants like AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, IBM, and Snowflake. This comprehensive range of educational resources aims to enhance learners' GenAI capabilities.
The new offerings include seven Professional Certificates from AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, IBM, and Snowflake. These certificates cover various aspects of Generative AI, catering to both beginners and advanced learners. For instance, IBM provides four job-specific GenAI Specializations, while Vanderbilt University offers the AI Agents in Java with Generative AI Specialization.
The demand for GenAI skills spans generations, with millennials leading at 60% of enrollments, followed by Gen X (21%), Gen Z (18%), and Boomers (1%). However, gender disparities remain, with women making up only 25% of GenAI learners in MENA, underscoring the need for greater inclusivity efforts.
Coursera's enterprise partnerships play a crucial role in helping businesses close skill gaps and prepare for an AI-driven future, with localized content and AI-powered tools supporting talent development across the region. The strong demand for GenAI skills is evident, as employers increasingly value industry-aligned credentials that demonstrate job-readiness.
The need for reskilling is high due to automation and industry transformation, with 46% of on-the-job skills expected to change by 2030 in the MENA region—the highest rate globally. Despite the strong uptake, 80% of GenAI learners in MENA are at the beginner level, indicating a need for more advanced training pathways to meet future demands.
Coursera's latest offering, Retrieval Augmented Generation, is a new course from DeepLearning.AI, aiming to provide advanced training for those looking to deepen their understanding of Generative AI. Additionally, Coursera has developed AI-powered tools like Coursera Coach, a personal tutor powered by LLMs, to assist learners with questions, feedback, and summaries, as well as career advice.
The expansion of Coursera's GenAI offerings is part of a broader effort to address the rapidly evolving digital landscape, ensuring that learners and businesses in the MENA region are well-equipped to navigate the future.
In the extended range of courses, learners can find numerous apps developed in collaboration with industry leaders like AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, IBM, and Snowflake, which aim to strengthen learners' Generative AI capabilities. The region's learners, including millennials, Gen X, Gen Z, and Boomers, are actively seeking to bridge skill gaps with over 500,000 enrollments in GenAI courses in 2025 alone, highlighting an emphasis on cloud-based education for AI-driven technology.
